美国国家公共电台 NPR--White House hosts summit with leaders of Pacific Island nations

White House hosts summit with leaders of Pacific Island nations

Transcript¹

President Biden is rolling out the red carpet for leaders from Pacific Island nations, a recognition of the influence that China has had in the region as the U.S. tries to up its game.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Biden is welcoming leaders from the Pacific Islands. A summit today and tomorrow in Washington is a sign of the administration's concern about the growing influence of China. NPR's Franco Ordo?ez reports.

FRANCO ORDO?EZ, BYLINE²: The White House says the summit is a chance to deepen cooperation on key issues like climate, with leaders from a dozen of the islands, including Fiji, Micronesia and Samoa. But it also comes in the wake of inroads China has made in the region, including a security pact³ that Beijing reached with the Solomon Islands.

PATRICIA O’BRIEN: The United States has had a real wake-up call in terms of how extensive China's influence is and how ominous⁴ it is.

ORDO?EZ: That's Patricia O'Brien from the Asia Studies Program at Georgetown University. She says that Beijing built relationships with these islands over the last 16 years while the U.S. was distracted by wars in the Middle East and other challenges.

O’BRIEN: It focused its attentions and its energies away from the Pacific, and it essentially⁵ subcontracted out a huge part of its outreach in the Pacific to other countries.

ORDO?EZ: The prime minister of the Solomon Islands says it's not about picking sides. Here is Manasseh Sogavare at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

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PRIME MINISTER MANASSEH SOGAVARE: Solomon Islands has no enemies, only friends. Our struggle is to develop our country. We've stretched out our hand of friendship and seek genuine and honest cooperation.

ORDO?EZ: Kurt Campbell is Biden's top adviser⁶ for the region. He admits that the U.S. didn't give the region the attention it should have.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KURT CAMPBELL: The United States needs to step up its game across the Indo-Pacific.

ORDO?EZ: Speaking at a think tank event last week, Campbell said the U.S. is ready to listen and invest. He said the U.S. used to have good aid and Peace Corps⁷ programs and strong Coast Guard deployments.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CAMPBELL: Some of those, frankly⁸, over time atrophied⁹. And now we're in the process of rebuilding all of those and more.

ORDO?EZ: O'Brien urged the United States to follow through on those promises.

O’BRIEN: This isn't transactional. This isn't just about solving a geopolitical headache for the United States.

ORDO?EZ: Because at this point, she says, it's literally¹⁰ about saving the islands from rising sea levels.

Franco Ordo?ez, NPR News, the White House.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE AMERICAN DOLLAR'S "SHADOWS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

4 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 atrophied   

adj.萎缩的，衰退的v.（使）萎缩，（使）虚脱，（使）衰退( atrophy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool. 病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。 来自辞典例句
• Method: Using microwave tissue thermocoaqulation to make chronic tonsillitis coagulated and atrophied. 方法：采用微波热凝方法使慢性扁桃体炎组织凝固、萎缩。 来自互联网

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。